A substantial number of handheld computing devices, such as cellular phones, tablets, and E-Readers, make use of a touch screen display not only to deliver display information to the user but also to receive inputs from user interface commands. While touch screen displays may increase the configurability of the handheld device and provide a wide variety of user interface options, this flexibility typically comes at a price. The dual use of the touch screen to provide content and receive user commands, while flexible for the user, may obfuscate the display and cause visual clutter, thereby leading to user frustration and loss of productivity.
The small form factor of handheld computing devices requires a careful balancing between the displayed graphics and the area provided for receiving inputs. On the one hand, the small display constrains the display space, which may increase the difficulty of interpreting actions or results. On the other, a virtual keypad or other user interface scheme is superimposed on or positioned adjacent to an executing application, requiring the application to be squeezed into an even smaller portion of the display.
This balancing act is particularly difficult for single display touch screen devices. Single display touch screen devices are crippled by their limited screen space. When users are entering information into the device, through the single display, the ability to interpret information in the display can be severely hampered, particularly when a complex interaction between display and interface is required.
Current handheld computing devices may be connected to larger computer systems, e.g., personal computers (PCs), or peripheral screens to provide more display area. Current handheld devices do not include features that allow it to provide both PC functionality and the functionality associated with the handheld device, e.g., phone, text, or other communication functionality. Instead, a peripheral screen connected to a handheld device merely provides more display area for the handheld computing device. When connecting the handheld device to another computing system, such as a PC, the handheld device is typically recognized by the computing system as a peripheral device. The functionality of the handheld device is typically not integrated with the functionality of the larger computing system.